Compensation of employees in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Compensation of employees was 26.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
26.8%
Change on year
down 4.2%
World rank
72nd
of 155 countries
All-time high
55.7%
in 1973
All-time low
26.8%
in 2023
Years of data
50
1973–2023

Compensation of employees in Costa Rica, 1973–2023

0204060197319982023

Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of expense.

Analysis

In 2023, compensation of employees in Costa Rica stood at 26.8%. That is the lowest value across all 50 years on record.

That represents a change of down 4.2% on the previous year and down 43.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, compensation of employees in Costa Rica peaked at 55.7% in 1973 and was at its lowest, 26.8%, in 2023.

That places Costa Rica 72nd out of 155 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.

Compensation of employees in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Compensation of employees (% of expense) in Costa Rica, 1973 to 2023.
Year % of expense Change
1973 55.7%
1974 54.3% -2.6%
1976 55.3% +1.9%
1977 51.1% -7.7%
1978 49.8% -2.4%
1979 50.8% +2.0%
1980 51.5% +1.3%
1981 52.8% +2.5%
1982 47.6% -9.7%
1983 41.4% -13.1%
1984 39.2% -5.2%
1985 39.9% +1.6%
1986 32.8% -17.6%
1987 38.5% +17.2%
1988 44.4% +15.4%
1989 45.4% +2.3%
1990 45.3% -0.2%
1991 43.7% -3.6%
1992 42.4% -3.1%
1993 40.9% -3.4%
1994 35.7% -12.7%
1995 38.3% +7.1%
1996 37.0% -3.3%
1997 37.4% +0.9%
1998 38.4% +2.9%
1999 39.0% +1.5%
2000 39.9% +2.2%
2001 39.2% -1.7%
2002 40.9% +4.4%
2003 42.9% +4.8%
2004 42.6% -0.6%
2005 41.4% -2.8%
2006 42.0% +1.3%
2007 41.6% -0.8%
2008 44.0% +5.6%
2009 45.6% +3.7%
2010 48.0% +5.2%
2011 49.2% +2.5%
2012 47.7% -3.0%
2013 47.5% -0.3%
2014 46.2% -2.7%
2015 43.4% -6.1%
2016 45.2% +4.0%
2017 46.9% +3.9%
2018 41.4% -11.8%
2019 31.6% -23.6%
2020 30.8% -2.5%
2021 29.0% -6.0%
2022 27.9% -3.5%
2023 26.8% -4.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 52.8% 49.8% 55.7% 6
1980s 43.3% 32.8% 52.8% 10
1990s 39.8% 35.7% 45.3% 10
2000s 42.0% 39.2% 45.6% 10
2010s 44.7% 31.6% 49.2% 10
2020s 28.6% 26.8% 30.8% 4

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 69 Cyprus 27.4% compare
  2. 70 Egypt 27.2% compare
  3. 71 Malta 26.9% compare
  4. 73 Mauritius 26.6% compare
  5. 74 Ireland 26.6% compare
  6. 75 Micronesia, Federated States of 26.2% compare

See the full ranking of 196 places →

More public sector data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is compensation of employees in Costa Rica?
Compensation of employees in Costa Rica was 26.8% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
What is the highest compensation of employees recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 55.7% in 1973.
What is the lowest compensation of employees recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 26.8% in 2023.
How does Costa Rica rank for compensation of employees?
Costa Rica ranks 72nd out of 155 countries with data for 2023.
Is compensation of employees rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 43.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Compensation of employees (% of expense). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Compensation of employees in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Retrieved 05 September 2026, from https://public-sector.statizoid.com/stat/compensation-of-employees-percent-of-expense/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Compensation of employees (% of expense)
Unit
% of expense
Source
Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
196 places, 5,286 data points, 1972–2024
Last refreshed

Compensation of employees is defined as the total remuneration, in cash or in kind, payable by an enterprise to an employee in return for work done by the latter during the accounting period. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.